Secret snaps
by blue nebulae
Summary: Arya feels like someone is watching her every move, she's sure someone is following her around and she's sure she once saw something that resembled a camera flash. Modern AU, Gendrya one shot.


**Secret Snaps**

Over the last few weeks she'd had this feeling of being watched, she felt someone's eyes on her almost every time she was on campus and she could swear she once saw a light dash that resembled a camera flash, but every time she mentioned this to someone people just kept saying she was imagining things.

She felt like she was losing her freaking mind every time she was on campus; she was sure someone was following her.

But not like all the time, specific times when she was around the main cafeteria, sometimes when she walked to the building her classes were held, sometimes on open areas like her favourite tree, the one she used to read and study.

Thank gods she didn't feel those prying eyes when she was training but she did start to have the feeling of being watched during her tournament three weeks ago, it began after her final match against Brienne.

She only hoped that feeling would go away soon, because if it didn't it would only mean that she truly has a stalker following her around or that she's going mental. And most of all, she hoped today would be a normal day.

Ok…

Now It was pretty obvious people kept looking at her, but it was different because today it was pretty obvious. Everywhere she went, someone looked at her as if they recognized her, it was odd and weird and it was making her even more paranoid.

She went to class and there were whispers and people looking at her, on the hallways happened the same and when she entered the cafeteria it was just too much.

"What is going on?!" she asked her friend Hotpie as she sat down next to him on the cafeteria. She felt so… watched that she wasn't even hungry.

"What do you mean" he asked while shoving his food.

"People are staring… Do I look funny or something?" today she didn't dress funny or anything, just plain black skinny jeans and an oversized black sweater and her black combat boots. She even combed her hair today! Making it fall straight around her face because she wanted to use it as coverage, thanking for once the fact the she had let it grow past her shoulders now! It could be used as coverage from the unknown stalker but today people were looking at her shamelessly!

She didn't like the attention, it was weird!

Why were people staring at her?!

"You're right… some people seem to be looking at you… why? Did you do something?" his friend said as he examined the area.

"Arya!" her sister Sansa came running to her table. Now this day was super fucked up weird. It wasn't that she had a bad relationship with her older sister but they never talk when they are on campus, it's pretty rare since both of them have their own groups of friend that are very different. They only hang out at the apartment they share near campus, where they watch movies, gossip, bake stuff and fight over the time the other takes using the bathroom, completely regular and normal sister relationship.

"you were right!" Sansa was flushed, apparently she came running looking for her since she was trying to catch her breath.

"About what?" what was Sansa talking about?

"Being watched!" Sansa yelled

"WHAT?!" she was now leaning forward, what did Sansa discovered, she needed to know!

"You need to see, come!" she was pulled away from her seat and dragged all the way throw campus at full speed, with Hotpie following them close by.

"Margaery discovered it and call me while I was in history class! I came running to see it for myself! She's over there trying to figure out who took them!" the explanation Sansa was giving still didn't answer any of her question. What did Margaery find out?!

"What is it?!"

"You! You're all over the place!" her sister was making no sense!

"Sansa, what the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Take a look for yourself!" they were in front of the art gallery; Sansa was opening the door for her to enter.

Even If all this time she wanted to confirm the fact that indeed she had been watched by someone, now she feared confirming that fact. What could she find inside?

She entered the gallery and saw that a photo exhibition was being held and on the centre of it, she could see herself… there were a million pictures of her.

The main one, on the centre of it was a picture in her fencing gear when she was about to put her helmet on and she had the most determined look in her face. She remembered that there were a lot of photographers that day, after all it was prelaminar round before the national tournament. It was a stunning picture.

But there were other pictures…

Her training, practicing with her sword needle; her during her morning run; her resting against her tree, her in a crowded place with everything unfocused but her face. Her walking, close ups of her and one in the middle of the garden in campus lying down with her hair displayed all over.

And many many more pictures, great pictures all over the place. She was stunned… who took them? Why?

"Arya, you were right! Someone was following you!" her sister said behind her.

"I knew I wasn't imagining things, who took them? Why? Who's been stalking me?"

"I know!" Margaery appeared bouncing "this is an exhibition from third years art majors, there are more in the art wing, on the hallways!"

"no wonder people have been staring… since when they've been up here?" she asked

"this are pretty cool shots" hotpie said in awe.

"Yes! Arya, you look so cool and pretty in all of them! You have a secret admirer!" her sister Sansa had a thing for looking on the romantic side of everything and now she was all excited about this fucked up thing.

"I have a fucking stalker! That is not romantic at all!"

"This whole thing was set up three days ago, I asked around and found out this part of the exhibitions were taken by a guy named Gendry Waters" apparently Margaery decided to be a detective asking around, now she had all the information she needed.

She was off, leaving Hotpie, Marg and Sansa behind as she made her way through campus with anger bubbling inside of her. Who did that guy think he was? How he thought he had the right to follow her around and take pictures of her at private, personal times without her consent?

She was stomping her foot at each step until she arrived to the art faculty. She only knew the guy was a third year arts major and that was it, she had his name but other than that no way to find him. So she was going to do the most logical thing to do, she was going to ask around.

About an hour later she felt like giving up because all the people she kept finding were freshmen and none of them knew a guy called Gendry Waters but she could still feel eyes on her and the whispering corridors of people recognizing her from the pictures. But she couldn't give up, she needed to find and beat the crap out of this guy to leave her alone.

"Are you looking for someone?" a guy asked her, a tall guy carrying a guitar.

"Yes. I'm looking for Gendry Waters. Do you know him?" the guys eyes flickered in recognition of her, she just knew it, he recognized her from the fucking pictures.

"aww, you're Gendry's muse" the guy chuckled "The bull is sculpting on workshop 3 by the third floor".

She was on turning back on her heels when the guy stopped her "Don't think poorly of him, he's a good guy with an explanation" so apparently she discovered one of the stalker's friends.

"How does he look like?" she asked him, the guy could recognize her and sneak out, she didn't want that to happen. The guy just laughed.

"He's very tall and buff like a bull, it's not that easy to miss. Black hair, blue eyes and blushes like mad, you'll spot him easily, miss" and the guy was gone and she made her way towards workshop no.3

She made her way and on the third floor she passes the first and second workshops, apparently were big rooms made for different types, one had people making sculptures and the other had people painting. When she was walking towards what she assumed was the third one, she started hearing odd sounds like metal pounding and blowtorches.

When she was in front of the the door of the room, the door was opened and she spotted three guys working in it. One in a bright yellow shirt was pounding metal, one was hunched over working with a blowtorch, full safety equipment on, and the last one was polishing something and she decided that was the guy she was going to approach first.

"Excuse me" she approached the skinny red haired guy, who lifted his eyes towards her.

"May I help you?"

"By any chance do you know Gendry Waters?" the guy smiled at her, fuck he also knows she's the stalked girl "Yeah, he's here" the guy turns and whistles before yelling "Gendry, someone's looking for you".

The guy in the back, with the welding gear on, stood up and she noted that it was a massive guy, he was super tall and when he took of the mask she found herself gazing directly into blue eyes that made her heart jump. It was him!

"YOU!" she pointed at him, the anger was increasing by the second and she wanted to use the hammer the guy in the yellow shirt was using to smash the shit out of the stalker.

"Look, I can explain!" the guy put down the blowtorch, raising both hands in front of him in a surrender manner.

"Lem, I think we should leave them alone…"

"Yeah, we'll be just outside… in case like we'll be outside!" Both guys, the ginger and the one in the bright shirt left them alone.

She walked over to the big guy called Gendry, who was still raising his hands.

"I'm sorry, let me explain"

"You better explain yourself, you've been stalking me!"

"No, I'm sorry… it's just…" the guy ran one of his hands, covered in gloves, through his hair "I didn't mean too, I just wanted to cover the fencing tournament for my class of photo journalism, that was it!"

"Public event, that's fine! But why did you followed me around! I thought I was going crazy!"

"It's just.. wait I can explain, just let me get my phone!" the guy said, he was flushed and sweating buckets. He made his way towards his backpack, removing the gloves and placing the smock on a hanger.

Now she understood why the guy she encountered before referred to him as the bull, he was buffed like really buffed! He was at least two heads taller than her, wide back and big arms, he was a freaking giant. And she cursed mentally at herself when she couldn't herself at scanning him, he was wearing a brown muscle shirt that stick to his body showing his muscles.

"Look, I'm sorry but those pictures weren't supposed to be up on display but somehow my professor saw them and decided, without my consent, to publish my work on the gallery! I planned on giving them to you… when I got enough courage to approach you, I swear! I never meant to be a creepy stalker nor make you uncomfortable. Look, you can see here the email my teacher sent me telling me he was putting the pictures on display! You can read it! He handed her his phone, which she took reluctantly.

There was an email addressed to Gendry Waters that read:

 _Gendry:_

 _I received the pictures you sent from the fencing tournament but I also saw the ones you were printing the other day on the lab. I found the theme of the life of a fencer enchanting, so I decided to enrol them for display at the art gallery this semester, it'd be a pity for those pictures to not be seen and they'll be taken into account for your final grade._

 _Keep up the good work._

 _Beric Dondarion_

"If I refused to give them in, Beric would've failed me… he doesn't take rejection very well" The guy was rolling on the ball of his feet, arms crossed looking uncomfortable and blushing like mad.

"That doesn't explain you following me around! I even saw the fucking flash go off!" he winced.

"I know it looks bad but it was no ill-intentioned!"

"Why were you following me in the first place?!"

"Because you smiled! And then, after the tourney I kept seeing you around in campus and I just couldn't keep my eyes of you for you're so pretty and you have this way of carrying yourself and air around you that… that it's like it you're picture ready all the time! I found you very fascinating…" he was looking down now, still shifting uncomfortable.

"you followed me around because I smiled at you? But I've never seen you before, I'd remember!" she never forgets a face she sees and she was sure she'd never seen this guy before. One would remember a face like that, a guy like that in total, there was no way to miss him for his height and because, even when she dreaded to admit it, the creepster was very handsome. So this guy was lying or he wasn't telling the complete truth.

"After the match, when you lost against the tall girl and removed your mask you smiled. You had just lost a final but you still smiled even if you ended up second place. I was stunned, you… took my breath away and before I could help it I was taking your picture until I had to leave. Then, next day I came in to class and I saw you reading by the big oak tree, and I kept bumping into you and I always carry my camera around so I took a few snaps…

"A few?" she cut him off.

"Tons, okay? I wanted to approach you, talk to you but like I never got the courage so I kept taking pictures. I knew it was getting weird and out of hand so I was going to finally approach you and give them to you and explain myself, trying not to be such a creep but Beric fucked it up even worst and I didn't know what to do!" he covered his flushed face and then lifted his hands to ruffle his hair again.

She was completely shocked, stunned and mouth opened.

A guy had told her she took his breath away… even when she wanted to hate the guy, her gut kept telling her he wasn't those creepy and scary stalkers but just a guy… with a crush. He was a Brainy from Hey Arnold type of stalker… a lame one that didn't even know when the flash of his camera was on.

"Look, I'll talk to Beric and I'll tell him the pictures are making you uncomfortable, I'll delete them and you'd never see me again, I promise!"

"You don't have to delete them, they are pretty pictures…" she said while handing his phone back and crossing her arms. A soft smile appeared on his face for a second before it scrunched again.

"Look, I'm not mad they are on display for everyone to see even when I hate the attention, It still bugs me you were taking snaps of me without my knowledge"

"There's nothing I can say to make it right, it was very wrong and I'm sorry"

"So you keep saying"

"Because I truly am. If I were you I'd be mad too"

"Well, see if you can make your teacher took them down, if not well I'll just have to get used to. Just, if I catch you taking my picture again, I'm turning you in to campus security" his eyes went wide as he registered her threat.

"You'll never see me again!"

"Good" she said as she turned to leave. What else could she do, she already threatened the guy and asked him to leave her alone.

"Wait!" he stopped her, she turned around to see him "Can I ask you a question?" she waited for him to ask, but he seemed to be waiting for an indication that told him she was expecting said question so she just said "what?"

"That day, the tourney. You smiled, why? I can't figure it out, you were happy even when you lost after a tough match"

"Because she was better" she simply answered, but his face still looked like he was thinking too hard, not understanding her answer "I gave my all, but I still lost so I couldn't be mad at myself, she was simply better and it just means that I'll have to train harder to finally be able to beat her next time we duel" she shrugged after ending her answer.

Gendry's face was pure awe before a smile broke and then he laughed, it was a hard felt laugh, those that show some kind of relief by finally achieving something. Those laughs you can't be mad at "You're a very special kind of lady. You know that, right?"

Now she was blushing and cursing mentally because that guy was turning out to be quite an adorable dork "I'm not a lady"

"Only ladies can smile like this" the guy handed his phone again. She took it not knowing what else he could show her until she looked at the screen. There she was again in a picture she'd had not seen on the gallery nor hallways, one after her match and shaking Brienne's hand with a b right smile on her face. She looked like shit, her hair all messy from being in the helmet, sweating buckets and cheeks flushed from the activity. How on earth could that smitten this guy?

"You even keep my pictures in your phone?!" her eyes went wide with realization, that was already crossing the line… even further…

"No! No! Gods no! That picture is on my storage cloud, like the rest of them! Please don't think I have your pictures on my actual phone's memory, I don't! I'm not a weirdo, please believe me!" he was beet red again.

She examined him again, all flushed and scared of her finding him even more weird than she already did "Gendry Waters, you sure are a weird fellow!"

He looked down, opening his mouth to speak. "If you say you're sorry one fucking time, I'm beating you down with that hammer" that stunned him, his eyes opening wide. She could live up to her word, she even carried her pocket knife on her boot. One wouldn't think she'd come and confront a stalker without something to defend herself.

"If there anything I can do to make it up?" he said and she scanned him. He was already willing to talk to his teacher to take the pictures down, he was willing to delete them and keep out of her way.

People might call her crazy for not considering this bull of a guy a threat or for thinking in a more Sansa kind of way for what she was about to say.

"Well, we can start with you buying me coffee, showing me all the pictures you've taken of me, erasing the ones I dislike and keep telling me how I take your breath away" she shrugged and the guys face, neck and ears turned an even brighter shade of red.

She began walking towards the door, when she reached it she turned back "well, are you coming?"

He was like a statue on his spot, before waking from his haze and shaking his head "Yeah, I just need to get change"

"Alright, I'll be waiting in the café by the campus fountain" and she left towards the busiest café on campus, near the busiest common area where you could always find people. She wasn't as dumb as to ask her stalker not stalker out and not be in a very public place. But she really wanted to see those pictures. So, as soon as she arrived she turned on her GPS, tagged her location on Facebook and called Sansa, explaining part of the situation, omitting the facts Sansa could find as something romantic and told her that she'd be home in about an hour, if she wasn't there by then or calling her she should call every fucking police department in the city.

But somehow, when Gendry Waters walked in into the café, her heart jumped a bit and she couldn't help herself in finding adorable the way his eyes light up and a grin showed on his face when he caught sight of her sitting on one of the sofas. She always trusted her gut, it had never failed her before, and it not only was telling her that this guy was harmless but that this wouldn't be the last time she'd see him in this coffee shop.

Author's note:

This just popped up and I wrote it in less than a day.

Don't get wrong, stalking is bad and should never be encouraged but somehow I don't see Gendry here as a stalker but a guy who's crush got out of hand.

Anyway, I hope you like it.


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